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Leeds United picked up their first win of the Premier League season as they beat Watford 1-0 at Elland Road on Saturday.

Diego Llorente’s first half strike was enough to secure the three points for the Whites as they worked hard to earn a win against the Hornets. The result takes Leeds up to 16th as it stands and three points off the top half of the table in this early stage of the season.

Despite the positives to come from winning the game, one player for Marcelo Bielsa’s team struggled to perform. Summer signing Dan James put in a worryingly ineffective display out wide, which will surely have left his manager feeling let down.

The 23-year-old has now played four Premier League games for Leeds and is yet to record a SofaScore rating of higher than 6.6 for the club. His rating against Watford on Saturday was a measly 6.2 as he failed to show what he can do in general play and in the final third.

In terms of his general play, James was a lightweight. As per SofaScore, he lost six of his 10 duels and made zero tackles in the game. He also gave the ball away 18 times and only completed 64% of his attempted passes, having 35 touches overall throughout the 90 minutes.

This suggests that he was too weak to deal with the strength of the Watford defenders, who eased him out of the way most of the time. Bielsa could be worried by this when Leeds come up against other teams who use their physical attributes to impose themselves on the Whites, as James may not be suited to such opponents based on this performance.

The Wales international did not redeem himself in the final third, either. As per SofaScore, James had a dribble success rate of 0% from four attempts and completed none of his attempted crosses. This led to him providing zero key passes in the match, whilst his only two shots were blocked by Watford defenders before they could reach Ben Foster’s goal.

Bielsa will surely have been feeling let down by James’ overall performance. The winger struggled both in his build-up play and in his execution of skill in key moments, leading to an all-round disappointing performance from the winger. Hopefully he will be able to repay Bielsa’s faith by coming back after the international break and improving the standard of his displays.

In other news: Leeds take major step as Thorp Arch news emerges, fans will be buzzing

Tottenham Hotspur have been doing their best to keep hold of their star player, Harry Kane, which has been an uphill battle for the club over the last 12 months, and now another link away for the Spurs goal machine has been reported.

What’s the story?

According to reports coming from El Nacional, Kane has been offered to Real Madrid, as Tottenham would prefer to sell the player to a foreign club, despite Pep Guardiola reportedly still interested in the striker.

The claim states: “He is desperate to leave, seeing that the results they are achieving are still very erratic.”

Kane has struggled to establish his usual form at Tottenham, only scoring one goal and offering up one assist to his teammates in the league this season, which is a far cry from last season where the 28-year-old won the golden boot and playmaker award, becoming only the third Premier League player to finish the season with the most goals and most assists.

Antonio Conte has since joined as Spurs manager, after rejecting the job initially in the summer, and it was thought that the appointment of the popular Italian could tempt Kane from making a move in January.

However, in a big twist to the tale, he’s now reportedly being offered elsewhere by the club.

El Nacional have reported that Guardiola wants to ‘throw himself at Kane’ in the winter transfer market, as Manchester City continue the season without a striker, and want to resolve that issue by bringing in Kane at any cost.

It is suggested that a move to the Santiago Bernabeau is more intriguing to the forward as he continues to desire a move to a club playing Champions League football, despite Carlos Ancelotti allegedly not interested in signing the Englishman.

Conte will be furious

Conte recognises Kane as an “important player”, and it was speculated that the manager turned down the job originally in the summer due to the uncertainty surrounding the striker’s future at the club, so clearly further talk of a move away will not be welcomed by the Italian manager.

Losing the goal threat of the England striker to another club, especially a Premier League side, would certainly hinder the progress and vision Conte has for the team moving forward, so it could be a really frustrating transfer window for the Lilywhites if they finally let him go.

The centre forward has scored 229 goals in 356 appearances for Tottenham, only 37 shy of the club record held by the late Jimmy Greaves, and has been integral to the side’s progress over the last eight years.

The club’s manager will have to do whatever he can in the January transfer window to ensure he can keep hold of his star man at least until the end of the season, in an effort to prove to the £108m-rated gem that Tottenham can win trophies under his reign, which could tempt Kane to stay long term.

For now, however, he should be seething that within just a matter of months of joining Spurs, his most important asset could depart.

In other news: Antonio Conte must unleash Ryan Sessegnon after fresh Spurs injury setback

Newcastle and Arsenal have joined the race to sign Torino’s Gleison Bremer.

The Lowdown: Bremer profiled

Bremer is a Brazilian centre-back who has been with the Italian side since 2018. He has made 107 appearances for the club, scoring 13 times and registering five assists. Bremer, labelled as an ’emerging superstar’ by Serie A journalist Rajath Kumar, has even captained Torino on several occasions this season and has two years remaining on his deal.

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The 25-year-old shares the same agent as January signings Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood, and it looks as if the Magpies have joined the race for the defender’s services.

The Latest: Newcastle interest

Sports Witness relayed an update from Gazzetta dello Sport regarding Bremer on Saturday.

They claimed that both Newcastle and Arsenal are the latest sides to show an interest in the defender who ‘everyone wants’, with his valuation now rising dramatically.

The Verdict: Shrewd signing?

Eddie Howe has five senior centre-backs to choose from at this moment in time, one of which is Fabian Schar, who is out of contract in the summer.

Bremer appears to be the type of player Newcastle could attract to the club, with Torino not in or challenging for any European competition.

However, it does look as if several clubs who are keen will be able to offer that luxury over the summer, possibly making it difficult for Amanda Staveley and co to get a deal over the line.

Staveley would have already spoken to Bremer’s agency in 2022 following deals for Trippier and Wood, so if an agreement can be reached with Torino, personal terms could be fairly straightforward.

In other news, find out what worrying Allan Saint-Maximin update has now been dropped here!

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly now showing ‘much interest’ in signing super versatile midfielder Andrea Cambiaso before the January transfer window shuts.

The Lowdown: Time running out

Spurs targets seem to be falling like flies, with both Adama Traore and Luis Diaz looking like they are going to move to FC Barcelona and Liverpool respectively.

Thus, with just a few days left until the window closes, Daniel Levy and the board need to get on with bringing some new faces in, and may now have to settle for players who can play in a number of different positions as the time to bring in multiple top signings ticks down.

The Latest: Cambiaso interest

As per journalist and transfer expert Gianluigi Longari, there is now ‘much interest’ from the North London club, as well as Juventus, Inter Milan, Atalanta and Napoli in signing Cambiaso.

His current deal at Genoa expires in 2023, but the Serie A team ideally want to keep him until the summer.

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The Verdict: Just do it

Lilywhites fans have surely grown tired of how many targets that they are missing out on, and so this is a case of just making sure Antonio Conte is not left completely empty-handed now.

There is no doubt that Cambiaso is a good player too, as Italian media have pointed out that he has ‘showed his qualities’ in his debut season in Serie A, in which he has managed to score one goal and make four assists in 22 games in total (Transfermarkt).

As an Italian himself, Cambiaso could work well under Conte, and would save the manager a headache as he can play in a wide number of different positions on the pitch, including at right wing-back and in the centre of midfield.

Nonetheless, with the clock ticking, this is a deal that Levy needs to get done as soon as possible, adding some versatile depth to his manager’s squad.

In other news, find out which ‘extraordinary’ ace THFC could now sign here!

Leeds United could sign a big upgrade on Adam Forshaw in Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez amid suggestions that the club could reignite their move for the midfielder.

What’s the story?

Reports over the course of the summer window had claimed that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were eyeing up a swoop for the 26-year-old, with Italian publication La Nuova Sardegna even suggesting that the Whites were ready to pay the €36m (£31m) release clause in order to bring him to Elland Road.

Ciclo Deportivo have now claimed (via FC Inter News) that the Whites could return to the table for Nandez, although it’s suggested that it could well be a ploy to get Serie A giants Inter to bid themselves.

Upgrade on Forshaw

With Kalvin Phillips out injured, it’s been up to Forshaw to bring some calm and experience to the Leeds midfield this season; and while the 30-year-old has tried to hold things down, Nandez would represent a real upgrade on him.

Speaking to This Is Futbol, Serie A football expert Conor Clancy said of the Uruguayan: “Anywhere Bielsa wants to play him, he’d do a job. I like him a lot. I think he’s only about five foot seven, but you wouldn’t know it if you just watched clips of him, he is a little bit of a machine. He’s so powerful but at the same time, has really, really good ball control.”

As per SofaScore, he averaged 1.8 tackles and won 6.1 duels per game in Serie A last term, which favours quite well when you compare him to Phillips – the Whites powerhouse averaged 2.6 tackles and won 5.3 duels per match in the Premier League.

Nandez’s performances for Cagliari even led journalist Mina Rzouki to say: “Cagliari’s Nandez is one of the most underrated players. God he’s been so amazing, especially in Cagliari’s last 3 games. He scored the equaliser against Napoli. Man of the match in the win against Udinese. Against Roma – just wow. Unstoppable.”

The £18m-rated Nandez appears to be the ideal solution to Bielsa’s lack of real midfield cover at Elland Road right now, with his combination of work rate and technique making him a perfect fit for the notoriously demanding Leeds manager.

This season, the Uruguayan has averaged far more duels won per game than Forshaw, while also offering a more consistent goal threat too, averaging more shots per match.

At four years his junior, and with plenty of experience in the Italian top flight, Nandez could seamlessly replace Forshaw in the starting line-up at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Victor Orta must ensure that he does this one crucial thing…

According to The Sun, Tottenham’s on-loan midfielder Josh Onomah has been linked with a move to the Bundesliga. 

Both Hoffenheim and Borussia Monchengladbach are interested in the 21-year-old, who is currently on loan at Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday.

It appears to be the new phenomena in European football currently for German clubs to snap up young English players that are not getting a look in for their clubs. This has been on show this season with the immense success of Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund, as well as players like Ademola Lookman last season.

This is a system that suits both the English and the German club. The Bundesliga outfit will get a high-quality player on loan or permanently for a cheap price, and the Premier League team get to send their players out to one of the most competitive leagues in Europe, where the standard is usually higher than the Championship.

Therefore, from Tottenham’s perspective, this deal seems to make wonderful sense, and should be one that they pursue if they have any ambition of Onomah making it at Spurs. A move to the Championship rarely sharpens a player enough for them to be ready for the top flight, whereas the Bundesliga will do just that.

Furthermore, Onomah has only played 11 games for The Owls this season, scoring three goals. He is not seen as a valuable asset at Hillsborough, and is not getting the game time or experience that Spurs will want to see. If these Bundesliga outfits are interested, Spurs should snap up the opportunity.

Queens Park Rangers will be aiming to progress to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup when they welcome Sunderland to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium tonight.

Mark Warburton’s charges have won their last three fixtures on home territory but will come into this one off the back of a disappointing defeat at the hands of Peterborough United last time out.

The capital club are likely to be without left-back Lee Wallace and midfielder Sam Field for the visit of the Black Cats. Wallace has been out with a hamstring problem since the middle of August and is yet to make his return to first team action, while Field is set to continue his recovery from a knee injury.

Sam McCallum could also be an injury concern for the Hoops after he was substituted against Peterborough at the weekend with a tight hamstring, meaning Warburton will have no natural left-sided defender available for this midweek encounter.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects QPR to line up against their League One opponents, with many changes from the side which started against the Posh…

In goal, first-choice shot-stopper Seny Dieng is set to keep his place between the sticks despite keeping just four clean sheets in his 15 appearances this season.

Ahead of the Senegal international is likely to be a familiar back three, but with one change. Jordy de Wijs could come in to give Yoann Barbet a well-earned rest, with Rob Dickie and Jimmy Dunne completing the defensive unit.

The engine room is expected to experience wholesale changes, however. Osman Kakay and Luke Amos should get rare opportunities to impress from the off along with the more regulars Moses Odubajo, while 30-year-old Stefan Johansen will offer an experienced head in the middle of the park.

Concluding the starting XI should be a strike partnership of Andre Gray for a rare start and Chris Willock just ahead of Ilias Chair, which would mean that the £1.8m-rated Charlie Austin and his strike partner Lyndon Dykes drop to the bench for a rest after both started against Peterborough.

In other news… Alan Nixon drops QPR claim on “outstanding” £4k-p/w beast which will have fans buzzing

Liverpool left it very late to secure their latest win in the Premier League thanks to a last-gasp injury-time winner from Divock Origi off the bench against Wolves at Molineux.

Despite the Belgian hero understandably taking the limelight with his late winner, one Reds player who started the game against Bruno Lage’s side and deserves praise on this occasion is Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In the 90 minutes he played against Wolves, the right-back showed just why he is such an important figure for Jurgen Klopp and his team, and why he has played in 16 games across the Premier League and Champions League this season.

With 87 touches of the ball, Alexander-Arnold managed to complete 48 passes (including four key passes), five crosses and two long balls, whilst also having two shots at goal (as per SofaScore).

The 23-year-old didn’t shirk away from his defensive duties either, with one clearance, one tackle and two interceptions under his belt today, helping his side to keep a clean sheet away from home.

This latest performance for the Reds earned Alexander-Arnold an overall match rating of 7.9/10, making him the highest-rated Liverpool player on the day according to SofaScore and Klopp’s hero in terms of his overall display.

The Liverpool Echo also picked up on the England international’s impressive display up and down the pitch at Molineux by saying he was “solid defensively and forceful going forward.”

Even though the right-back – who has been labelled in the past as “out of this world” by pundit Gary Neville – didn’t add to his impressive goals and assists tally for the season today, his overall performance showed everyone just how brilliant he is.

His overall performances in the league so far this season have earned him an overall rating of 7.74/10, making him the second-highest rated Liverpool player at this stage of the season underneath Mohamed Salah according to WhoScored.

Moving forward, if Alexander-Arnold can continue playing regularly and putting in this sort of solid performance in an attacking and defensive sense, he could just fire Liverpool to the league title by keeping them strong at the back and dangerous going forward.

In other news: Klopp given major LFC boost as transfer claim emerges, fans surely buzzing

Newcastle United supporters came into the January window expecting big things from their new mega-rich owners but sadly, reality has hit them hard.

The Magpies have still only won a solitary game all season and with now under two weeks to go in the transfer market, have just Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood to show for their troubles.

What’s the word?

This has been a topsy-turvy month for the Toon so far but there is an expectation that a number of deals will be wrapped up before the deadline on January 31st.

One of the biggest priorities for Newcastle in the window has been bringing in one or two central defenders.

Sadly, Sven Botman is now unlikely to join the northeast side this month but they are now also facing significant difficulties in their plans to bring Sevilla defender, Diego Carlos, to St James’ Park.

This is a deal that has been in the offing for a number of days now with the player even believed to have handed in a transfer request at his Spanish employers.

However, there has been a big twist to the tale. Despite Newcastle initially appearing to be the frontrunner, they are now facing competition for his signature.

The news was revealed by Kaveh Solhekol on a live edition of Sky Sports News’ Transfer Show on Wednesday evening.

He said: “We’ve been told another Premier League club is trying to sign Diego Carlos and they have made a bid for him.”

The Sky Sports reporter continued: “Our information is that the player would like to leave Sevilla and to come and play for Newcastle, so much so he handed in a transfer request yesterday (Tuesday).

“So it looked like there were positive signs that he could be going to Newcastle. Then another Premier League club came in for him today, they have matched Newcastle’s £30m bid. That has complicated the situation.”

Fans surely scared

After already missing out on their number one target in Botman, this is news that will severely deflate and scare not only the Toon Army but also the club’s recruitment team and hierarchy.

A deal to bring Carlos to the club was far from plane sailing in the first place but it did look as though Newcastle were making important breakthroughs in a bid to land his services this week.

However, that has now been thrown into disarray by one of their divisional rivals and if it was someone in the Premier League who stole him away from them, it would only make matters even worse.

This is a devastating blow to the club’s transfer plans and although they do have a number of other options at centre-back, including Benoit Badiashile of Monaco, Gleison Bremer at Torino, and Felix Uduokhai at Augsburg, Carlos was right at the top of their list.

His addition would and could still be a significant one for many reasons. Not only would it prove that Newcastle have the ability to pull players from top clubs in European football, but also because their defence has been diabolical this term.

They have kept just one clean sheet this season – against Burnley – and have shipped 43 top-flight strikes throughout 2021/22. For context, only fellow relegation rivals Norwich have a worse record than them.

As a result, signing Carlos was vital this month and if another Premier League side prises him away instead, it will leave the fanbase demoralised and frightened about their prospects for the rest of the campaign.

AND in other news, “I’m told”: Craig Hope issues major NUFC transfer claim that’ll get fans excited…

Celtic were pretty busy during the previous summer transfer window in terms of bringing new Bhoys to Parkhead and moving some out in the other direction under Ange Postecoglou.

With the next summer window on the horizon, it seems as though one Hoops player, in particular, that was involved in last summer’s busy period could be on the move again.

What’s the news?

According to a Celtic source relaying information to Football Insider, defender Osaze Urhoghide is likely to be on the move again during the upcoming summer transfer window.

That’s if a permanent deal to Oostende, where he’s currently on loan, can’t be agreed.

Repeating Lennon’s mistake

Celtic signed the centre-back, who is currently valued at £270k according to Transfermarkt, during the 2021 summer transfer window from English League One side Sheffield Wednesday on a four-year deal after he agreed a pre-contract agreement with the Hoops in March.

Since then, the defender has only made one senior appearance for the Parkhead club, which came during their 3-2 win over Real Betis in the Europa League where he played the full 90 minutes in the right-back position.

During his time in Belgium, the 21-year-old has been using his time and opportunity there to show Postecoglou what he’s capable of by racking up an average of 2.2 interceptions per game, the highest of any other player at the club, as well as 1.8 tackles and two clearances per game.

If the Englishman ends up joining the Belgian side, or even another club, on a permanent basis in the summer, this could potentially end up being a similar sort of mistake for Postecoglou as it was for Neil Lennon to sell Virgil van Dijk to Southampton back in 2015 for a fee of £13m.

He has since gone on to be a superstar with Liverpool having won the Premier League and Champions League.

Labelled as an “immense” talent by Wednesday manager Darren Moore, Urhoghide certainly has enough time ahead of him to really become a standout first-team figure for the Hoops, if given the chance to do so and gradually become more intrinsic to Postecoglou’s side.

With all of that in mind, if the Hoops do want to move the defender on again in the summer, they should make sure it’s on another loan deal at a club where he’d be getting regular game time and enough of a challenge to show his parent club what he’s made of.

In other news: Daily Record drop big 11-word Celtic claim, unforgivable error could be inbound